蜜芽传媒

For well over a decade, civil war blighted the lives of Syrians, as rebel forces battled against former President Bashar Al-Assad and his brutal regime. More than 600,000 people were killed and 12 million others were forced from their homes during this time.

In December last year, everything changed when Assad鈥檚 dictatorship was abruptly overthrown by his opponents.

We hear from a range of people living and working in Syria as they describe how life was for them under the old regime, and how they鈥檝e been affected by the country鈥檚 new leadership. They also discuss how the lifting of international sanctions has started to improve their ailing economy.

Hoteliers describe how their hotels are now fully booked, and they鈥檙e able to maintain and upgrade their buildings again. And three artists exchange views on organising performances now and their hopes for the future.

Three students describe how having freedom of speech has transformed university life. 鈥淵ou can feel a shift in the atmosphere, in the way people talk to each other. And when you look at the student faces, you can see hope now,鈥� says Sarah. But she and fellow student Omar agree that this freedom sometimes also now affects how people interact outside the university. 鈥淣ow people just attack and speak because they want to attack and they want to damage others and harm others by their words. For example, some people from specific groups or ethnics, they just attack others because they are not us,鈥� he says.

Presenter: Mark Lowen
蜜芽传媒 producers: Angela Sheeran, Laura Cress and Akwasi Sarpong
Boffin Media producer: Anne McNaught

An EcoAudio certified Boffin Media production in partnership with the 蜜芽传媒 OS team.

(Photo: Rama Al-Barsha,viola player and violin instructor in Damascus. Credit: Mohamad Azaat)